Global Leadership Consortium

News Achive

“Conducting International Activities”
Global Leadership Consortium Forum
National Academy of Public Administration
Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering of Boeing and Mr. Gregory F. Treverton of RAND provided their views on the qualities and abilities required for success in international work to representatives of U.S. government agencies. The program was the second in a series arranged by the Global Leadership Consortium of the Federal Executive Institute, the Graduate School, USDA, and the National Academy of Public Administration to provide networking and training opportunities on global issues for U.S. government employees who are not part of the traditional defense or foreign affairs communities. A summary of the proceedings follows.

Mr. Treverton

• RAND surveyed leaders in government, business, and the not-for-profit sector to learn which competencies they thought were necessary for international work.
• Results showed consensus on the need for cognitive ability, interpersonal skills, character, tolerance, adaptability, and teamwork.
• Foreign language and area expertise were somewhat less important for managers, perhaps because many believed they could hire to need.
• Research showed basic distinctions between the public and private sectors, e.g. business has greater flexibility than government in hiring non-citizens.
• In government, respondents noted that middle management, as a consequence of downsizing in the 1990s, had become relatively thin.
• In universities, the international element has become weaker in recent years, with greater global competition for international students, more advanced placement courses, and a less cosmopolitan approach to faculty development.
• Positive trends in government include hiring flexibilities and the encouragement of portfolio careers.
• Political appointees in federal agencies have an important role, but the pendulum has swung too far in that direction.
• Senior jobs in agencies should be reserved for career personnel to ensure depth, experience, continuity, and an incentive for career advancement.
• The ability to work well across agencies is vital, and implementing portfolio careers that allow for meaningful cross-agency assignments provide a way to encourage that skill.


• Globalization of issues and economies should prompt agencies to re-examine certain fundamentals, e.g. the hiring on non-citizens and the fact that government, business, and non-profits are not competitors but collaborators in many areas of endeavor.

Ambassador Pickering

• Be clear on goals, from which tactics follow, and remember the Hippocratic dictum, “first of all, do no harm.”
• In government, political appointments often have extended too deeply in the hierarchy to be helpful.
• The ethnic and cultural diversity of the United States is a potential strength that is difficult for government to exploit.
• Basic skills needed for success in international work include subject mastery; area expertise; cultural sensitivity (i.e. what directs the ideas and actions of foreign actors); and foreign language skills, including the ability to work with translators.
• Practical skills include preparing one’s case, listening to what the other party says, canvassing the range of appropriate experts, and setting objectives.
• Negotiating skills generally are not well-taught. Most negotiations are three-in-one: 1) with your counterpart; 2) with your own side; and 3) your counterpart with his side.
• Establishment of trust is vital, as is knowing when and how to report good news and bad, when to appeal to higher or lower authorities, and how to break deadlocks by broadening or narrowing the terms of discussion.
• A common fault in negotiation is a focus on winning the debate rather than on finding a common goal.
• Developing a sense of how to work together for common purpose across defense and civilian agencies, similar to what the uniformed services enjoy as jointness, is essential to pre- and post-conflict and reconstruction work.
• Personal experience in the private sector highlighted the importance of three elements—people, presence, and process—and the challenge of developing and implementing country strategies, including a balance of local expertise and corporate knowledge in the managers who implement them.

Discussion
The conversation that followed the presentations focused on the unfulfilled promise of the Senior Executive Service in providing responsibility and portability for senior officials, the relative merits of developing the top ranks within agencies themselves or of adopting an approach that encourages, within certain limits, an exchange among agencies at senior levels on the premise that senior managerial skills often are transferable.

Future programs
The consortium plans other programs in this series that will address global leadership from the point of view of business interests, political leaders, and academic authorities whose research includes the competencies for leadership in the contemporary world.

Civilians Need Training to Work in Iraq and Afghanistan

The federal government is not adequately preparing employees outside of the Department of Defense to take on increasingly critical peacekeeping and nation-building work, according to John Hillen, State’s Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs.

“There’s a lot of disappointment across the government that (the mission in Iraq is) still a DoD show,” Hillen said in a recent article in Government Executive magazine (see “Nation Builders,” June 15, 2006 issue). “The great ‘aha’ of the Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review is that we cannot kill or capture our way to victory in Iraq or Afghanistan,” he noted. “It’s very rare that the Pentagon sends somebody out untrained and unsupported. People don’t leave without training, without (communications technology), without a fairly clear directive on what they’re expected to do,” Hillen says.

But such is not the case for those in other government agencies. “We have a government that’s not made for this environment,” Hillen noted. ‘There’s a lot of agricultural work to do in Iraq and Afghanistan that has huge civil-military benefits. And anytime you see somebody from the Department of Agriculture out there, it’s a miracle, because the Department of Agriculture is (designed) to do agriculture here.”

Hillen feels that Foreign Service Officers and civil servants at State lack the same kind of training and logistical support than military personnel have. He plans to improve coordination between the two agencies, including sharing training facilities and revamping the Foreign Service Institute curriculum. But that still won’t do much for those at other federal agencies, who are increasingly part of a broader effort needed to reach U.S. foreign policy and domestic goals.

Women and International Work

Women in the private sector increasingly find themselves doing international work, according to Charlene Solomon, executive vice president of the global relocation firm RW3 LLC. "The fact that the number of women in upper management is growing, logically points to an inevitable growth in business travel, as well as increased opportunities for women to accept international assignments," says Solomon, noting that "women tend to be more affiliative and relationship-oriented, which is a benefit in intercultural transactions." Adherence to professional behavior and the use of diplomacy and flexibility are also skills that will serve female global leaders well, Solomon notes. She suggests, however, that women may find it advantageous to work in partnership with male colleagues in some situations in order to prevent potential cultural misunderstandings (see Mobility [Solomon], January 2006, pp. 70-74).

Human Capital and Competitiveness for Global Leadership

David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, and Clay Johnson, Deputy Director of the Office and Management and Budget, presented their views on the competencies for global leadership in presentations to representatives of U.S. government agencies in a program of the Global Leadership Consortium at the National Academy of Public Administration on May 9, 2006. The main points of the presentations and discussion follow.

David Walker

• The preeminence of the United States is not without challenge.
• Those challenges include globalization, aging, diversity, mobility, intellectual capital, fiscal challenges, and living standards.
• Many agencies have significant responsibilities for global issues in the environment, science, technology, public health, and many other fields.
• The ability to work internationally and to understand the global implications of policies and programs is a critical human capital need.
• All agencies need a human capital strategy that includes international concerns.

Clay Johnson

• The abilities of persons sent on assignments abroad and of those who work domestically on issues with international aspects are both important.
• Even seemingly domestic issues, such as the regulation of nanotechnologies or genetic engineering, have consequences for the policies and economic interests of the United States abroad.
• Training alone is insufficient: senior management must direct employees to consider the international consequences of their work.
• Employees often have more responsibility than authority, particularly in international settings. To be successful in that environment, it is essential to understand the concerns of others and to develop solutions that address those concerns as well as our own.

Discussion

• Decentralization and delegation of authority cannot be used as an excuse for something not getting done. A department needs to take ownership and responsibility for all that it wants to accomplish.
• The decentralized nature of government makes coordination difficult at agencies in Washington and at diplomatic posts overseas.
• Most agencies acknowledge that their work has international implications.
• It would be useful to inventory the national training capability of the U.S. Government.
• Clarity and accountability are vital.

The consortium plans other programs in the series that will address global leadership from the point of view of business interests, political leaders, and academic authorities whose research includes the competencies for leadership in the contemporary world.

World Citizens Guide - an Aid for International Travelers

Perceptions of Americans traveling abroad are often negative, not necessarily because we set out to insult or disappoint our host country's people but because we don't know any better. A short (6 pages), catchy and very readable "World Citizens Guide" offers a simple way to make a better impression.

The Guide, prepared by a nonprofit group called Business for Diplomatic Action Inc., is intended to help private sector travelers be more respectful - and be seen to be so - in dealing with their counterparts in other nations. It is part of an overall campaign funded by the National Business Travelers Association with membership thus far from several major multinationals, such as McDonald's, Microsoft, and Exxon Mobil.

Among the tips in the Guide: (1) Slow Down - "we talk fast, eat fast, move fast, live fast. Many cultures do not."; (2) Speak Lower and Slower -"A loud voice is often perceived as bragging."; and (3) Talk Small - "Talking about wealth, power or status - corporate or personal - can create resentment."

The Guide was assembled in part through a survey of people in 10 countries by Omnicom Group, a polling firm.

Read the book.

Army Teachers Officers to be More Effective Globally

The U.S. Army will be putting about 200 officers into advanced degree programs to enhance their international competence, according to Col. Mark Patterson, the official in charge of policy for developing the Army's officer corps. A pilot of this overall effort is placing 21 officers in graduate school to learn foreign cultures, business practices, and languages. At the University of South Carolina's Moore School of Business, for example, a program that began lat May has officers spending two years in the classroom to be followed by five months in extensive language training overseas, including Arabic, on their way to earning a master's degree.

One of the officers in the pilot program, Maj. Levi Dunton, described the need for the program in terms of his own experience in charge of a reconstruction project in Iraq. An effort to build a small school, he said, "turned into a multiple-month project" that did not really meet the community's needs. "Just having some native language ability would have helped significantly," he said.

The program will also offer a rich chance to learn from other students. The Army officers enrolled at the University of South Carolina are joined by faculty, staff and 103 other students who collectively represent 75 countries. (Source: Washington Post, 2/21/06)

"Scholars in the Nation's Service" Program Announced

The Partnership for Public Service and Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs have announced a new initiative, "Scholars in the Nation's Service," to encourage more of the nation's best and brightest students to pursue careers in the U.S. federal government, especially in the international relations arena

The six-year program, to begin in a student's junior year in college, will include a summer federal government internship, approximately two years of federal government service after college, and a master's degree in public affairs (MPA) from the Wilson School. The program will work with the scholars before graduation to match their skills with substantive work in federal agencies, with a special emphasis on international affairs careers. After their two-year tour in government, scholars will return to the School to earn an MPA degree.

"This 'Scholars in the Nation's Service' program is a direct response to the critical need in this country to attract greater numbers of talented students to careers in the federal government," said Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of the Woodrow Wilson School. "All the efforts of the non-profit sector and the private sector cannot substitute for a strong and competent government committed to finding and implementing solutions to public problems," she added.

The purposes of the program, modeled after the Rhodes and Marshall Scholars, are twofold. The first is to ensure that a wide range of Princeton undergraduates, and eventually undergraduates at other colleges and universities, appreciate the range and impact of positions available to them in government service. The second is to provide exceptional students with opportunities to experience government service first-hand and to gain the skills they need to succeed in government positions.

Scholars in the Nation's Service will be selected based on superior academic performance, a proven track record of accomplishment, and a demonstrated commitment to government service, with emphasis on those areas of the federal government that are concerned with international relations and affairs.

George C. Marshall Center for Security Studies
www.marshallcenter.org

The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies is a leading transatlantic security and defense educational institute dedicated to the creation of a more stable security environment. Its College of International and Security Studies (CISS) plays a major role in advancing peaceful engagement and building partnerships among the nations of North America, Europe and Asia.

The CISS offers resident education programs for civilian and military officials, and programs are taught simultaneously in English, German and Russian. Its flagship course is the 12-week Program in Advanced Security Studies. CISS also offers a 5-week Program on Terrorism and Security Studies and a 2-week Senior Executive Seminar.

The Center's Foreign Language Training Center offers intermediate, advanced and specialized classroom instruction in ten languages for 400 U.S. and NATO military and civilian linguists each year. Languages covered include: Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Persian-Farsi, Russian and Serbian-Croatian. The Center also conducts classes in English and German for another 400 international participants in its resident security studies programs.

U.S. Image Still Has Much Room for Improvement

The United States still remains broadly disliked in most countries, according to 2005 data from the Pew Center's 16-nation Global Attitudes Survey. India gives the most favorable rating of the U.S. (71% of those surveyed have a favorable opinion) with Poland, an ally in the war in Iraq and a friend since Cold War days, reporting the second highest favorable rating (62%). The Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain all come in at less than 50% favorable, with the lowest ratings coming from Turkey and Pakistan (23% each) and Jordan (21%). The poll results were reported at the end of June 2005.

Reasons for the ratings no doubt vary, but many nations registered strong concerns that U.S. foreign policy does not consider their interests. Jordan and Turkey were again among the lowest scores, with only 17 and 14 percent respectively reporting that U.S. foreign policy takes their concerns into account.

Tsunami relief efforts in 2005 did help the U.S. image abroad, but findings on how others view Americans raise concern. Muslim publics, including Indonesians, are highly critical of Americans in many respects. They are much more likely than those in other nations to view Americans as "immoral". While most Western countries have majorities reporting Americans as "honest," "inventive," and "hardworking," substantial percentages in these countries also view Americans as "greedy" and "violent" - a finding shared by Americans themselves (70% of Americans characterized their own countrymen as "greedy" and 49% characterized them as "violent.")

For full results, go to:
http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=247

Army to Offer Online Language Training

The U.S. Army announced that it will offer foreign language training for free to all active Army, National Guard, Reserve and Department of the Army civilian personnel. The online software, called Rosetta Stone, will be available through the Army's Distributed Learning System e-Learning program.

"Critical foreign language capability and skills are increasingly important to our Army," said Director of Training Brig. General James Milano, in announcing the effort. "Rosetta Stone provides the Army with an immediate, interactive language training tool to train our soldiers, leaders, and civilians for operational deployments and professional development," Milano noted.

Created by Fairfield Language Technologies, the online program offers 26 languages, including Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Farsi (Persian), Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Pasto, Russian, Spanish (Latin America and Spain), Thai, and Turkish among others. (Reported in Government Training News.)

For more information on Rosetta Stone, visit their Web site at :
www.RosettaStone.com

Globalization Predicated to be a Key Driver of Business Ethics

Globalization will be the number one business driver of ethics within the next decade, according to a study of 1,121 global business respondents surveyed by the Human Resource Institute for the American Management Association. How globalization will affect ethics, however, is less clear according to the study. Will more intense business competition cause business to cut ethical corners to survive? Survey respondents did identify "pressure to meet unrealistic business objectives/deadlines" as the factor most likely to lead people to compromise ethical standards. But survey respondents also cited corporate social responsibility as a factor that will become more important in the next decade, and environmentalism may be part of that push. Respondents predicted that "environmental issues" will be the second most important driver of business ethics after globalization. And in the environmental area, the U.S. is lagging behind its international partners. Canadians, Europeans, and Asians rated this issue as much more important than did U.S. business professionals in the survey, who rated it seventh of their top ten issues in the next 10 years. (For more information, contact the Human Resource Institute, 5959 Central Avenue, Suite 201, St. Petersburg, FL 33710 (phone: 727-345-1254)).

State Department Pioneers Innovative Use of Human Resources

The State Department has created new ways to develop and access its human resources, as part of Secretary Condoleeza Rice's "transformational diplomacy" effort. Faced with the need to respond to international crises much more quickly, the agency has launched two efforts to make the best use of its roughly 43,000 employees, including both U.S. and foreign nationals.

One effort, called Employee Profile Plus, is a skill inventory that enables the department to get a quick and closer look at employee competencies than has been possible in the past. When the tsunami hit Southeast Asia toward the end of 2004, the department was able to identify every employee with experience in Sri Lanka in less than half an hour.

A second effort has been to create a readiness reserve of Foreign Service employees in which each declares a career development "major" and "minor." Training and development are geared around these areas, and this helps the agency have sufficient skills in reserve when needed.

Fellowship Program Offers Training in Japan
for U.S. Government Workers

Five federal workers will spend a year studying in Japan on fellowships provided by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. The Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program is a two-year, government-to-government exchange—the first of its kind for the United States and Japan.

The government officials selected by a bi-national committee, come from the departments of State, Justice, Transportation, and Health and Human Services.

The Mansfield Fellowships were established by Congress and named after former Senator and Ambassador to Japan, Mike Mansifeld. The aim of the program is to build a corps of U.S. government officials who can be a resource to their agencies on Japan issues because they have Japanese language skills and a firsthand understanding of the political, economic and strategic dimensions of the complex U.S.-Japan relationship.

The Fellowships are administered by The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation through an annual Congressional appropriation, with the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as grantor. Additional support comes from the government of Japan, Northwest Airlines and the Toshiba International Foundation.

Since the Fellowships were established, 70 Fellows, representing 20 agencies and departments of the U.S. government, have entered the program. Program alumni have been promoted or assigned to federal government positions with direct responsibility for issues involving Japan and Asia. The next application deadline is April 3, 2006; for more information about the Mansfield Fellowship Program, please visit: www.mansfieldfdn.org/fellow/fellow.htm.

State Department Launches Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization

The Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS), established in the State Department last May, will lead, coordinate, and institutionalize the U.S. Government’s civilian capacity to prevent or prepare for post-conflict situations and to help stabilize and reconstruct societies in transition from conflict or civil strife so they can reach a sustainable path toward peace, democracy and a market economy.

S/CRS is working to improve: central management of the United States’ conflict response; field-based coordination and rapid response capabilities; and provision of skills and resources for implementation. This effort includes attention to the training and development of State Department employees and the use of its Employee Profile Plus system to quickly identify employees with experience to respond to critical overseas needs. For more information on the office, go to: www.state.gov/s/crs/.

Air Force Launches International Affairs Specialist Program

The U.S. Air Force is now operating an International Affairs Specialist (IAS) Program. Specialists will be mid-career officers who will receive extensive development for international and political-military assignments. Officers will be nominated for an IAS secondary career path and receive formal training and education with follow-on assignments on one of two possible development paths. Path 1, for Political-Military Affairs Strategists, “offers a well-managed career broadening opportunity to gain international experience,” according to the Air Force description of the program. Path 2, the Regional Affairs Strategist, gives officers the chance to “develop into regional experts with professional language skills” for multiple IAS assignments.

“The career path complements an officer’s overall career development with international affairs experience that contributes to success in the primary career field,” said Bruce S. Lemkin, deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for international affairs. “A key aspect of this program is balancing between the IAS career path and the officer’s primary career specialty,” Mr. Lemkin said. “Consistent with the Air Force’s force-development concept, we are committed to keeping these officers proficient and competitive in their primary career field while making them international affairs experts.”

The program is beginning with 100 officers but may expand to include 3,000 over time. For more information, go to:
www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123010206.